April 6, 2017
| PENN STATE at BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS | | | 11-4-0 (2-4-0) |
| Friday, April 7-Saturday, April 8 | 8 p.m. | Champaign, Illinois | Tickets |
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MEN'S GYMNASTICS IN SEARCH OF FOURTH B1G TITLE
The Penn State men's gymnastics team will make the trip to Champaign, Illinois Friday, April 7-Saturday, April 8 in search of its fourth Big Ten Conference Championship. The Nittany Lions will compete in the team championships Friday, April 7 at 8 p.m. before going on to compete in the individual event finals Saturday, April 8 at 8 p.m. All sessions will be featured on the Big Ten Network.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
The Nittany Lions will have a tough battle as they compete for their fourth Big Ten Championship. All seven B1G men's gymnastics teams rank in the top-10 in the national rankings with Ohio State coming in at a league-best No. 3 nationally. Also ranking in the top five are Illinois and Minnesota, who come in at fourth and fifth, respectively. Nebraska comes in sixth overall and Penn State sits in seventh nationally heading into the championship. Finally, Iowa and Michigan round out the Big Ten in the eighth and ninth spots, respectively.
The Golden Gophers lead the conference on the floor exercise averaging a 69.190 and coming in third nationally, while Ohio State ranks second in the nation on the pommel horse and Penn State follows just behind in third overall. Moving to the still rings, Minnesota comes in on top of the Big Ten in third overall and Penn State ranks fourth with a 69.006 average. The Golden Gophers have excelled all season on the vault, ranking second nationally with a 72.175 average, while Iowa ranks fourth with a 71.239 average. On the parallel bars, Ohio State ranks third and Penn State ranks fourth, while Illinois leads the Big Ten on the high bar with a 69.472 season average.
A LOOK BACK AT THE 2016 CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Penn State men's gymnastics team placed fourth at the 2016 Big Ten Championships hosted by Ohio State with a final score of 427.150. Ohio State captured its 13th Big Ten title with a score of 434.450, while Illinois placed second with a 429.700 and Minnesota rounded out the top three with a 429.100. Ohio State's Sean Melton earned the all-around title with an 89.750, which included three individual event victories for the redshirt-sophomore. Five Nittany Lions qualified for the individual event finals paced by senior Trevor Howard who will compete on the floor exercise, vault and high bar in Saturday's competition. Also earning spots in the event finals were freshman Michael Burns, who will join Howard on the high bar, redshirt-junior Leroy Clarke, Jr., who will compete on the parallel bars, Dominic DiFulvio, who will compete on the still rings and Alexis Torres, who will compete on the vault.
PENN STATE VS. THE BIG TEN IN 2017
at Illinois - The Nittany Lions suffered a 411.350-404.650 setback in their first Big Ten meet of the season to the Fighting Illini. Freshmen Stephen Nedoroscik and Favian Valdez both took home titles for the Blue and White with a first-place finish on the pommel horse and the all-around, respectively.
vs. Ohio State - Penn State notched its second B1G loss of the season, this time at the hands of the defending Big Ten Champion Buckeyes, 419.150-417.750 at Rec Hall. Freshman Sam Zakutney was the lone event winner for the Nittany Lions, taking home the parallel bars title and the all-around victory.
at Nebraska w/Iowa - The Blue and White fell to both Nebraska and Iowa in the tri-meet, scoring a 409.600. Seniors Leroy Clarke, Jr. and Dominic DiFulvio came away victorious for Penn State as DiFulvio took home a still rings title and Clarke earned the parallel bars win.
vs. Michigan - After weeks on the road, the Nittany Lions returned to Rec Hall and earned their first Big Ten Conference victory with a 409.200-405.300 win over Michigan. Penn State won six individual event titles with Sam Zakutney taking home the floor exercise, parallel bars and all-around wins, while Leroy Clarke, Jr. won the pommel horse and high bar and Dominic DiFulvio captured the still rings victory.
vs. Iowa - In a senior day meet, the Nittany Lions captured their second-straight Big Ten victory, defeating the Hawkeyes after falling to them earlier in the season. Dominic DiFulvio picked up the still rings and vault title, while Stephen Nedoroscik and Leroy Clarke Jr. tied for first on the pommel horse and Wyatt Tyndall earned the parallel bars title.
NITTANY LIONS IN CHAMPAIGN
The 2017 Big Ten Championships will mark only the second time in program history that Penn State has competed in Champaign, Illinois in the postseason. The last time the Nittany Lions competed at Illinois in postgame competition was in the 1955 National Championships where they finished second overall.
In the regular season, Penn State holds an 8-4 overall record when competing against Illinois in Champaign, while four of the Nittany Lion's top 10 scores in school history have happened at Illinois. The Blue and White scored a 77.250 on the still rings, which ranks second all-time in Penn State laurels at Illinois, while its 73.950 and sixth-best score in school history also happened in Champaign. Finally, the Blue and White recorded its 10th-best score in PSU laurels on both the floor exercise and team score at Illinois.
12 NITTANY LIONS EARN ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN
Penn State student-athletes continue to add onto their academic achievements with the announcement of the 2016-17 Winter Academic All-Big Ten honorees. The Nittany Lions tallied 76 honorees, the second-highest winter total in school history, just shy of last winter's record total of 79. The Nittany Lions ranked third among all Big Ten institutions in 2016-17 winter Academic All-Big Ten honorees. The men's gymnastics team had 12 Academic All-Big Ten recipients, including junior Noah Roberson, who owns a 4.0 GPA in biomedical engineering. Led by Coach Randy Jepson, the Nittany Lions were second in the Conference in honorees. Also earning Academic All-Big Ten honors for the Blue and White were Joseph Boyle, Michael Burns, Franz Card, Colin Coates, Benjamin Cooperman, Dominic DiFulvio, Christian McSwain, Jeremy Munn, Chris Sands, Alex Thomason and Wyatt Tyndall.
PENN STATE CLOSES OUT REGULAR SEASON WITH WIN OVER IOWA
The Penn State men's gymnastics team became one-of-seven teams in the 2017 season to notch a 420.000-or-better as it took home a 420.400-414.000 victory over Iowa in a Big Ten Conference meet. The Nittany Lion's 420.400 ranks fifth in the nation in the 2017 season and is a season-high for the Blue and White in its senior day competition. Head coach Randy Jepson and the rest of the Penn State squad honored its six seniors, Joseph Boyle, Franz Card, Leroy Clarke, Jr., Dominic DiFulvio, Christian McSwain and Jeremy Munn following its win over Iowa. The Blue and White saw two season-best with a 72.350 on the pommel horse and a 70.950 on the parallel bars, while the team saw six individual personal-bests and four individual season-bests. Penn State brought home four event titles with DiFulvio earning the still rings and vault victories in his final event at the Rec Hall, while freshman Stephen Nedoroscik grabbed the third pommel horse title of his career and Clarke tied with Nedoroscik for the title. Finally, Wyatt Tyndall garnered the parallel bars title for the Blue and White.
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions will take a week off of competition in preparation for the 2017 NCAA Championships, hosted by Army West Point April 21-April 22. The team will compete in the qualifier Friday, April 21 at 7 p.m. and finish the team finals as well as the individual event finals Saturday, April 22 at 7 p.m.
